HOW WAS CRUE?
HEARING LOSS
I said, ‘HOW WAS CRUE?’
It might be wise to wear earplugs to tonight’s show, or any other show…
Marty Fort saw the ’80s metal band Motley Crue perform last summer at the outdoor Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte. It was carnage on his ears.
“Insanely loud,” Fort said. “It was so loud that you couldn’t recognize what songs they were playing. I could tell by the vibrations of the guitar.”
The Crue, stopping tonight at the Colonial Center for the third leg of its reunion tour, isn’t the only noisemaker in our world.
Headphones, bars, even household equipment conspire to assault our ears. And while we easily can protect our ears from life-changing damage, many of us don’t.
Audiologists say hearing loss is a problem in the United States because people aren’t protective of their hearing.
Earplugs are a fan’s best friend at rock concerts, but most plastic and foam pieces are uncomfortable, muffle the sound and, frankly, don’t look so cool.
But high-profile cases of ear damage — suffered by The Who guitarist Pete Townsend, Neil Young and Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood — might make fans consider shelving cool points in favor of being able to hear.
It wasn’t until drummer Robert Savage had trouble hearing everyday conversations that he looked into wearing earplugs.
“A lot of my friends and folks are tired of me saying, ‘Huh?’,” said Savage, 29, of Columbia, who plays in Entreat and Zeroyear. “I’ve been playing drums for 20-something years. That probably has something to do with my deafness.
“I’m the poster child for wearing protection.”
Charles Haynes, a physician with Audiologist Services in West Columbia and Orangeburg, said hearing damage results from exposure.
A person can withstand 90 decibels — about the loudness of a lawnmower — for up to eight hours without sustaining hearing loss. But listening to one hour of a typical rock concert — at 110 decibels — is equivalent to hearing eight hours of that lawnmower.
Earplugs can lower drastically the decibels reaching your ears. Ear devices are rated on a noise reduction scale from 0 to 30, with a high number providing greater protection.
“It’s nothing to get over 100 decibels at a concert,” Haynes said. “Anything over 100 decibels in a concert that lasts several hours, that’s dangerous.”
According to the Colonial Center, the loudest it has been in the 16,000-plus seat arena is 117 decibels at Monster Jam.
How do fans who don’t carry a pocket decibel meter know what is too loud?
“If the sound is loud enough to make your ears feel stuffy, it’s loud enough to cause hearing loss,” Haynes said.
Another sign of hearing loss is constant ringing in the ears, a condition called tinnitus.
It’s not just rock concerts that can be harmful. Over time, home and car stereo systems, iPods and garage equipment such as drills and chainsaws can cause damage.
At clubs such as New Brookland Tavern and Headliners, local bands are known to crank up the sound. But earplugs aren’t as common as ear-splitting guitar solos.
“I haven’t seen many people wear them at all,” said All-In Entertainment’s Charles Wilkie, who handles Headliners’ booking. “There are some shows where you sure need them.”
If you’re going to Motley Crue’s concert, it’s a good time to invest in a pair of earplugs from local drugstores.
Fort, who wasn’t wearing protection in Charlotte “only because I forgot,” will be on the ninth row begging for more noise tonight.
“That’s what the music is,” he said. “It’s full of volume.”
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